THE family of a retired eye surgeon and his wife who were among eight Britons killed in a bus crash in South Africa have spoken of their shock.

Roger Pearce, 60, and his wife Linda, 49, died when a minibus overturned on New Year's Eve after swerving to avoid a pedestrian said to be intent on committing suicide. They left three daughters.

The holidaymakers, on a walking safari tour, had been in the country for about ten days.

Other victims of the crash were Neil Pike, 35, and Christine Rowe, 30, a couple from Preston, Lancashire, Dr Anthony Egan from Surbiton, Surrey, and Thomas Harris from Cardiff, south Wales, who were both 65.

Dr Egan's wife, Sonia Willhoft, believed to be 61, survived the crash and is said to be distraught.

Andrew Robertson, thought to be 58 and whose home address is not known, also survived. The two suffered minor injuries.

The Foreign Office confirmed the names of the last two British victims as Stephen and Marion Moon of Maidstone, Kent.

Relatives of the Britons were believed to be on their way to South Africa.

Eileen Gardner, 90, a neighbour of Dr Egan and his wife, described them as generous and caring and said they had helped her for several years.

She thought Dr Egan and his wife were retired maths teachers.

A neighbour of the Moons, Coral Yaxley, said the couple kept themselves to themselves.

"They had just finished turning their bungalow into the house they had always dreamed of. It really is tragic," she said.

Another neighbour said Mr Moon had been a software engineer while Mrs Moon worked for GEC in the north of England, but both retired some years ago.

The holidaymakers were on their way to the Royal Natal National Park in a Mercedes Benz Sprinter pulling a trailer when the accident happened.

Three other people travelling in the bus - a Canadian, a South African driver and a local tour guide - suffered minor injuries.

Local resident Buyisiwe Miya witnessed the crash.

"A man was walking around telling people he wanted to kill himself but no one took him seriously," she said through a translator. "Suddenly I saw him in the road walking in front of cars. The bus tried to avoid him but the trailer hit him."

The pedestrian who was killed was named as Pelepele Miya. It could not be confirmed whether the victim and the witness were related.

Logan Maistry, spokesman for the KwaZulu Natal Department of Transport, said six Britons were killed at the scene and two died later in hospital.

A team of experts has been sent to the crash site to investigate.

"There will be a report in a few days," Mr Maistry said yesterday.

The crash follows a spate of tourist deaths on tour buses in the country.

The worst incident was in September 1999 when 26 Britons - including Margaret Dartnell, 69, from Marton, Middlesbrough - and their African guide were killed when their bus skidded off a wet road and down a mountain side. Mrs Dartnell's husband John survived but was badly injured.

The driver was jailed for six years after admitting culpable homicide.